Who Are We?

Our community is blessed with many talented singers, and has a long tradition of choral music, including the Christmas cantatas and Memorial Day Concerts. For most singers, however, these performances and local church choirs offered the only opportunities to share and enjoy vocal music.

In the autumn of 2006, a dream and vision that had been forming for many years was finally realized. A grass-roots choral group with specific musical objectives and aspirations was organized. The vision for the group was to create a singing environment meant to stimulate the participants and promote advanced choral singing, with a firm commitment towards excellence, and a constant striving for superlative choral technique. To accomplish this end, some of the most talented voices in the Hornell and surrounding areas were recruited, resulting in a chorus of 35-40 voices…….the Orpheus Chorale.

To realize the aim of the group a very talented director with the same commitment and zeal for excellence was needed, and was found in the noted choral director Mark A. Smith. Mark is known for both his distinguished directorial accomplishments and his superb acting talents in many Hornell area productions.